


These halls feel haunted

by Im_Angry_and_Smol



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Awesome Laura Barton, Civil War Team Iron Man, Depressed Tony Stark, Everyone made mistakes, Gen, Hallucinations, Hurt Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Tony Blames Himself, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, Tony Stark-centric, Worry, and his team broke it, im sorry, its sad ya'll, no beta we die like men, no team cap bashing tho, not entirely canon compliant, there will be eventual redemption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29258223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Im_Angry_and_Smol/pseuds/Im_Angry_and_Smol
Summary: He knew that spending all this time alone wasn’t good for him. It was coming up on two weeks after Siberia, two weeks wandering the empty halls.It had taken only one week before he had started hallucinating.orTony isolates himself at the compound after Civil War and his mental health falls into a downward spiral. Natasha, Rhodey and Pepper are trying to rescue him from himself.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Laura Barton & Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First off, the disclaimer, I don't own anything except the plot. Second, I am very sorry for all the pain I put Tony through in this story, he truly deserves the world.  
> Please leave any suggestions and questions in the comments. Enjoy! :)

Tony wasn’t sure why he had come back to the compound. It had never been his home, built for a team he wasn’t part of. Sure he had hoped that one day he’d visit enough to feel like home, but his home was Stark Tower. So, again, as he sat at the kitchen counter, alone, he wondered why he had come back here after it was all over.  
Maybe it was because the compound was closer to the rehab place that Rhodey was in. Maybe because he thought Pepper would appreciate space since they were still on a break. Maybe it just hadn’t felt right to abandon the building to dust and empty days.  
The building was huge, it had been meant for a team of superheroes with larger than life personalities, not for a single man who couldn’t even save his own friends. The beauty and design, all of it carefully custom made, fell flat.  
Tony was angry. Angry at St-Rogers for his lies, at Natasha for betraying him, at Clint for not even wondering what it was all about before choosing a side, at Wanda for the whole mess of Ultron and hurting Vision. And of course angry at Barnes for murdering his mother.  
There was a whole other mess of feelings too. Guilt, because once again it was somehow all his fault. Frustration, because why couldn’t they have just listened? Why couldn’t they have talked it out like adults?  
But mostly Tony was lonely. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was. Pepper and him were on a break and he couldn’t bring himself to call her and let her know what was up. Rhodey was still stuck in the hospital and rehab place. Happy was Pepper’s driver and security now, not his. And JARVIS...was gone.  
He was all alone in this big building. Natasha gone in the wind along with Rogers and Barnes. Clint, Wanda, Scott and Sam were still on the Raft, Tony was negotiating for their release. Not that they knew.  
Every single one of their rooms was just as they had left them. Not a single thing was out of place. It still looked like a home. Tony stayed in one of the guest bedrooms, though most of his time was spent in the lab or on phone calls with his lawyers. He had brought Roger’s shield home and hung in it in the Captains room, where it belonged. (He had been wrong to saw it didn’t belong to him)  
The only thing missing was the family that had lived there. Tony thought, with a half hearted laugh, that it was almost like he was house sitting for them. Ironic when he was the one who had designed and paid for the building.  
He knew that spending all this time alone wasn’t good for him. It was coming up on two weeks after Siberia, two weeks wandering the empty halls.  
It had taken only one week before he had started hallucinating.  
The first time it had happened it was only voices. Loud, happy voices. St- Roger’s laugh, Vision’s calm voice and a jumble of others. Coming from the kitchen. Then Tony rounded the corner, his heart rate picking up because he hadn’t slept in forever and for a moment he thought that they actually came back, and the voices were gone. Only an empty kitchen and cold coffee waited for him.  
As days went on they became more frequent. Tony would be sipping coffee somewhere, the workshop, the kitchen, the living room, it didn’t matter. He would look up from his work and a former teammate would be sitting there, watching him.  
The first time it was Natasha, and it looked so realistic that Tony actually startled.  
“..Natasha?” He had asked.  
She had only blinked at him, a small, fond smile spread on her face. A smile that had only shown up on team bonding nights. Then Tony blinked and she was gone.  
Next came Vision, then Wanda, Clint, Sam, and Rogers. Sometimes they spoke, sometimes they only watched him. Whenever they spoke it was always accusing.  
Why’d you tear the team apart Tony? This is all your fault, just like Ultron.  
He never had an answer.  
...  
“Are you even listening, Stark? This is your negotiation.” Ross’s words startled Tony and he flashed a dazzling smile.  
“Of course I’m listening, Ross. What boring idea were you spouting off now?”  
Ross studied him for a moment, Tony smiled back, daring the man to call him out. Ross sighed and began speaking again, shuffling his papers. The other secretaries, generals and old stuffy people listened attentively. Not Tony.  
Tony let his gaze drift back to the door. Where the team stood. Roger’s with his arms crossed and game face on, Clint and Natasha next to him at each other's sides looking right through him. Wanda and Vision were on Steve’s other side, watching the room with disinterest. Sam watched from behind them, a frown on his face.  
They all watched Tony as if to say, ‘you broke it, now fix it. Can you do that?’ Yes, he wanted to say. Yes I can fix it, just give me time. They shook their heads, a pitying smile on Wanda’s face and suddenly they were gone. Empty space in front of the door where they were.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no experience with writing panic attacks so I apologize for inaccuracies. On that ominous note, please enjoy the chapter! :)

“He’s not here.”  
Natasha didn’t startle. She merely turned around calmly. Pepper was approaching her, her heels clicking across the floor of the penthouse.  
“Where else would he be?” Natasha asked, trying to figure out where Tony would have gone.  
She regretted letting Steve and James go at the airport. They had messed everything up. She had hoped...she wasn’t sure what she had hoped. But she had screwed up, and now Tony was paying the price.  
“The compound.” Pepper said, “Natasha, he won’t tell me what's going on. He’s trying to push me away. Rhodey is still at the hospital, there’s no one there with him.”  
“What do you want me to do? I’m not exactly the first choice for who he wants to see right now.” Though her words sounded hostile, her tone was genuine.  
Her first evaluation of Tony could not have been more wrong. If he was doing anything right now it was blaming himself for everything that had happened. For a genius, he was pretty stupid some times.  
“I don’t know Natasha. I’ve seen the news, it’s not pretty and I’m furious,” Here Pepper spat, “at the team and pretty angry at you too. Don’t give me excuses, and don’t try to explain things from your side to me. Just fix it. Tony’s working himself into the ground trying to fix it on his own.”  
“Yes, ma’am.” Natasha nodded. She didn’t argue, unlike some people on her team, Pepper was actually being a reasonable adult. She turned and started walking down the hall towards the elevator.  
“Oh. Pepper?” She turned back, Pepper looked at her expectantly, “I am sorry.”  
Pepper simple nodded and turned to go back to work. Her business skirt swishing and her perfect ponytail swaying with every step she took.  
...  
Natasha found herself sitting on a couch in an empty living room. The compound was deadly silent, she almost didn’t believe that Tony was here. Except for the fact that there was an accumulation of coffee mugs by the sink in the kitchen. And the lights were on in the workshop even though it was nearing three am.  
James and Steve were in Wakanda, she had called Steve a few days ago and let him know just how much he had messed up. She had hung up before he had the chance to respond, she didn’t want to hear his excuses.  
Despite not watching news very often, she knew that the others were on the Raft. She had gotten into contact with Clint, who after a few days to think and more information from Natasha, realized he had messed up. Also the lecture from Natasha about what an idiot he had been might have helped as well.  
The faint sounds of AC/DC echoed and then there was the sound of the workshop doors slamming. Tony was coming up for coffee. Natasha walked to the kitchen and sat herself down at the counter to wait for him.  
His footsteps sounded the same as they always had. Shuffled and light. She peered at his frame as he walked in, still not noticing her. There were bags under his eyes, larger than normal. He wore his favorite MIT hoodie and sweatpants, which were stained with oil and sweat and he generally looked rumpled. In his hand he clutched his coffee mug, now empty like a life line. His frame looked smaller, as if he wasn’t eating enough and his hair looked like it hadn’t been washed properly in days. Let alone be combed.  
The moment he entered the kitchen he looked up. Natasha waited for a reaction or words or something, she didn’t get it. He looked at her up and down, and then went to the coffee machine. As if nothing unusual had happened.  
Nothing much confused her, or startled her. This did though. She cleared her throat.  
“Tony.” She said.  
“Oh, that’s a new line.” He scoffed, almost to himself. As if she wasn’t there.  
“A new line?” She asked, going for an unimpressed look as she tried to figure out what was happening.  
“You guys ask questions now? That’s a change. It’s usually just talking at me or watching ominously.”  
“What?”  
“I’ve confused the hallu-Black Widow. That’s a feat. Didn’t know you could confuse hallucinations. Anyways, got stuff to do, time to waste. See you later.” Tony went to leave the kitchen.  
Natasha felt herself go cold. Tony had been alone in this building so long, he was hallucinating his team. Obviously this was not a new thing or he would be more concerned. She stood and chased after him, grabbing his arm before he could walk away.  
He stiffened. Then he looked up at Natasha and she felt her stomach flip when there was a hint of fear in his eyes.  
“You’re not a hallucination, are you?”  
“I’m afraid not.”  
“What are you doing here? Thought you would be with your buddies or breaking Clint out of jail.”  
“Clint broke the law.” She said firmly, “And I talked with him. He knows he messed up. Steve and Barnes are hiding in Wakanda. Tony, Steve should’ve told you.” Tony’s eyes widened and Natasha let her’s soften. “He told me he would tell you.”  
“You knew.” Tony whispered, he stepped back. Natasha let him. She watched him take shuddering breaths, watching her suspiciously. “ You knew.” He repeated, more firmly this time. Anger flashed in his eyes.  
“You didn’t tell me! You let Roger and Barnes go and you knew! Why’re you here? To lie to me again? Tell me to forgive them?” Tony hissed at her. Natasha let it happen. He needed to get this out.  
“How long? How long did you know? We’re a team! Or at least we were! Roger’s going on and on about ‘no secrets’ while he’s lying to my face. You know he almost killed me?”  
Natasha felt her breath hitch. She knew something happened in Siberia, but she hadn’t known what. Tony sneered at her. “Yeah, your buddy Rogers and me got into a fight. A good old fashioned fight, Zemo started it and then..and then…” Tony started to breath quickly. Too quickly.  
“Tony, listen to me. Breathe, ok?” Natasha reached out hesitantly, not sure if she would be the best choice to help him through a panic attack right now. To her surprise he didn’t flinch, he didn’t react either so Natasha wasn’t sure if it was a win or lose. He looked up to her and her heart almost broke at the fear in them.  
“And n-now..Rhodey..” Tony was trying to talk, Natasha shushed him, pulling him closer into a hug.  
“Tony, can you calm down for me please?” He was stiff in her arms.  
“But..I’ve g-got...”  
“No. No Tony. You don;t have to do anything but walk for me?”  
He gave a nod and Natasha helped him stumble over to the couch. He curled his legs up close to his chest and his arms protectively covered his arc reactor. Natasha kept one arm wrapped around his shoulders and gently rocked.  
“I-I’m fine..” He got out of his chattering teeth. Natasha shook her head and kept rocking.  
“I know you are. Let’s just sit for a minute, alright Antoshka.”  
They sat like that for a while, probably about five minutes. Ton had given up trying to tell her he was fine. The panic attack was long over but he was exhausted and Natasha figured sitting for a minute wouldn’t hurt. When he seemed calm enough Natasha spoke.  
“I should’ve told you. Steve told me he would tell you and at the time we only suspected. I messed up at the airport.”  
Tony nodded mutely, still staring off into space. Natasha waited, letting him have some time. She didn’t apologize like other people, she hoped that Tony would catch on and accept her untraditional apology.  
“Ok.” He said, his normally loud voice sounded so small.  
“What?” She asked, not quite understanding. He looked up at her.  
“It’s ok. Well, I mean, I’m still kinda mad and you shouldn’t have lied but you’re a spy so it’s kind of your thing. But what I’m trying to say is that I forgive you.”  
“Oh.”  
“You speechless? That’s a first.” Tony said. Natasha smiled.  
“Thank you, Tony.”  
“You’re welcome. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.” He went to stand up, but Natasha kept her grip on his arm.  
“When’s the last time you slept?”  
“Don’t worry your pretty little head, Red. I’ll be fine. Your room is still there if you want to stay. All the rooms are. Don’t feel obliged though.”  
“See you in the morning then.” Natasha accepted that Tony wouldn’t talk anymore tonight.  
“Uh..Yeah. In the morning.” Tony seemed surprised that she was sticking around.  
He fiddled with his coffee cup, an adorably confused expression on his face. Natasha smiled and waved before turning and walking in the other direction. She had to suppress the urge to chuckle when she heard Tony mutter about ‘sneaky spies trying to give him a heart attack.’  
She laid in bed. The fabric of the duvet familiar to her, the closest thing she’d ever had to home. But sleep didn’t come.  
Her brain was occupied with thoughts of the resident genius who was working down in the shop. Tony, who was so obviously not ok and yet persisted to help people who had done nothing except scorn and exclude him.  
It was so ridiculous that people said Tony Stark didn’t have a heart. He did, and he wore it in plain sight. Tony Stark had a blue, glowing, bleeding heart. It was such a shame his own team seemed determined to break it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be out soon, no exact date(Sorry) I've noticed that the formatting isn't including my italics which makes me sad, but what can you do?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are conversations, Tony avoids Pepper, and then proceeds to be self destructive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I know it's short, just to be clear I'm not blaming Tony, he's just being stupid and blaming himself.  
> Please, enjoy! :)

Tony wasn’t sure what to make of Natasha being at the compound too. He was glad to have another face around and he didn’t blame her. He was working on forgiveness, it was going well(-ish.)  
She made breakfast for him the very next morning and then made him eat it. It was the first thing he had consumed besides coffee and the occasional granola bar since a week ago. He hadn’t slept in three days.   
“Pepper’s worried about you. She’s the one who told me where you were.” Natasha told him at breakfast.  
“There’s nothing to be worried about. Tell her I’m fine.”  
“You and I both know that’s not true.”  
“She has a company to run, she doesn’t need more stress.”   
Tony just needed to work. He just needed to fix this. Go to meetings with Ross, get the ex-avengers pardoned, fix his suit, make improvements to Rhodey’s braces. If he worked, he would be fine. The raw emotions would fade, he would get a handle on his PTSD.(Spoiler alert: he wouldn’t)  
Rhodey was making slow but steady progress. Tony was there every week helping him and making adjustments to his braces. The doctors told him that Rhodey would be lucky if he ever got to walk again, Tony wouldn’t(couldn’t) accept that and so he set about making it an absolute certainty that Rhodey would walk.   
Tony didn’t call Pepper. Natasha had said that Pepper was worried but Tony couldn’t pick up the damn phone. He didn’t want to pull her away from her work for his own drama. He could deal with it on his own.  
The hallucinations were still there. In the meetings with Ross he was always shadowed by a team member. When Tony sat in the workshop and fiddled into the night there was always an appearance. Hallu-Natasha didn’t show up anymore, Tony guessed his brain was tired of generating the fake one when the real deal was in the same building.  
...  
“Tony, go to sleep.” Natasha told him at lunch. He scowled at his sandwich, which he had taken one bite of and promptly decided that today was not an eating day.(That was one more problem with him that he needed to fix)  
“Why? I’ve got coffee. I took a nap yesterday.”  
“You’re gonna work yourself into the ground. You don’t need to fix everything.”  
“But I do!” He yelled, suddenly angry. He lept to his feet and began pacing, “I do need to fix it! I’m the one who messed it up and now the teams scattered to the wind, half of them are imprisoned, there’s no one to protect Earth! Don’t you see? I have to fix it,” Tony ran his hands through his hair and pleaded with Natasha to understand, “because there’s no one else.”  
“Tony,” Natasha shook her head, “You don’t need to do everything yourself. It’s not all your fault you know.” She told him softly.  
Tony just stared at her, not comprehending. How did she do that? How did she know what was going on inside his head. His hands stilled.  
“Of course it isn’t.” He scoffed after a few seconds, playing cool. “Where’d you get that idea?” He left the kitchen, not waiting for her to answer.  
...  
“Tones, how are you?” Rhodey said suddenly. The joking tone he had been using a minute again was gone. Tony stilled and looked at him, one arm still wrapped around Rhodey’s shoulders.  
“Better than you.” He quipped. Tony was not in a position to have one of these conversations.  
“Somehow I doubt that. You look like you’re going through finals again, only this time you don’t have anybody to tell you to sleep or eat or shower..” Rhodey let himself trail off.  
Tony could see the point he was trying to make. Natasha had been making the same point the past few days. Why couldn’t they see? Why was it so hard for them to see that he needed to work. He didn’t (Couldn’t) stop for rest.  
“I’ve missed a few nights sleep,” he admitted, shuffling his feet slightly, “Natasha’s been making me eat at least one thing other than coffee a day..”  
Rhodey’s face softened and Tony almost couldn’t bear to see the worry on his face. “Tony, that isn’t doing good. I know you know that. Have you talked with Pepper? Anybody? And don’t say Ross or any of those other suits.”  
“I’ve talked with you.” Tony offered, stubbornly not mentioning the onesided conversations with his hallucinated posse.  
“You can’t do this to yourself Tony. Stop pushing us away, call Pepper. Go back to the tower, something. Get out of the workshop, Dum-E, U and Butterfingers can only keep good company for so long.”  
“How do you know I’m hanging out with the bots?” Tony retorted, Rhodey had hit the nail on it’s head.   
“I’ve known you since you were a scrawny fifteen year old. You love those bots like your own children.”  
“I don’t have kids, honeybear.” Tony scoffed, not liking this meaningful conversation.  
“Keep telling yourself that. But, Tony, do something.” Rhodey looked at him seriously, Tony nodded, knowing he wouldn’t get out of it.  
He went back to the compound, drank five more cups of coffee and didn’t sleep. That made four days. He didn’t call Pepper either.

The phone that Roger’s had sent him was in his workshop. In the top drawer of his desk. Tony hated that after all that had happened he couldn’t bring himself to throw the damn thing away. But he just couldn’t.  
Sometimes he wondered what would happen if he just dialed the number and talked. Would Rogers listen? Could they come to a compromise? Had he meant it when he said that he would be there? Tony always put it back before he ever dialed. He didn’t want to do another thing he would regret.  
Chances were, Rogers would only confirm the very thing Tony himself thought. Tony had messed up, the only one to blame was himself. And this time the whole team had paid the price.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is in progress, we'll have new characters showing up! There will also start to be glimmers of hope and happiness for our favorite genius/billionaire/playboy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Natasha plans an intervention and Tony is sent on a vacation against his will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the comments and kudos!! And thank you as well to those just reading this story! Please feel free to comment if you'd like and without a further ado, enjoy! :)

“I’m planning an intervention. You are going to help.” Natasha started the meeting bluntly.  
Rhodey and Pepper sat in their respective chairs, looking at her expectantly. Pepper was dressed in a white business suit and skirt and pursing her lips in a worried tic. Rhodey wore the braces Tony had made for him over jeans and a random tshirt that may or may not have been stolen from Tony’s closet.  
“How is he?” Pepper asked, Rhodey immediately frowned and looked at her.  
“I told him to call you. I’m guessing he didn’t?” She shook her head. “Well, there’s your answer.” He said.   
Natasha shook her head, gaining their attention. “What do you know already about how he’s dealing with this?”  
“He’s not sleeping as much as he should, too much coffee, constantly working, only blaming himself. The standard things. He won’t let me in and there’s only so much I can do when I’m confined like this.” Rhodey gestured to himself in general. Natasha turned her eyes to Pepper who looked guilty.  
“He’s shut me out entirely. All I know is that he got back from Siberia and moved the bots to the compound. There have been a few emails about the negotiations for the rogues release but other than that I only had suspicions.”  
Natasha nodded, she figured as much. She steeled herself for what she was about to say, Rhodey and Pepper weren’t going to be happy.  
“You know that the compound was completely abandoned,” they both nodded, “until Tony moved in. I didn’t arrive until two weeks later.”  
“Tony was all alone for two weeks?” Pepper hissed.  
“When he first saw me, he thought I was hallucination.”   
“What?!” Rhodey was fully focused on her now.  
“He was isolated, Rhodey. That’s not good for mental health. He’s been hallucinating the team, had been already for who knows how long before I arrived. He plays it off and doesn’t mention them but I can see him just staring off into space or talking to people who aren’t there in the workshop.”  
“Oh my god..” Pepper looked fairly horrified.  
“He knows they’re hallucinations, just talks to them to see if they’ll respond,” Natasha allowed herself a small smile, “always conducting science experiments...but anyways. There’s that and the standard stuff, I don’t think he’s slept in a while, I have to practically shove food down his gullet and even then he only eats a bird's portion. He’s burying himself in his work and I can’t watch anymore.”   
Her breath hitched. Natasha was viewed by many as cold and calculating but the Avengers had wormed their way into her heart. She loved them all dearly, to watch them fall apart around her had been hell. Natasha would not let Tony run himself into the ground. She wouldn’t allow it.  
After taking a breath and calming herself, it was barely even noticeable to the other two, she continued speaking. “We need to get him out of the compound immediately. He needs to leave, go somewhere he can’t work, so he’s forced to relax and take care of himself and heal. Otherwise he will work himself to death, you know he will.”  
“We need a plan of action,” Pepper said immediately, always a woman of action. “Because he may be utterly infuriating but Tony will not be destroyed by this.” Pepper hissed, looking terrifying even to Natasha.  
“We can’t just abandon some of his work though,” Rhodey pointed out, “we need to pardon and release the rouges.”  
“I’ve got people in legal who should’ve been working the case from the beginning.” Pepper waves her hand.  
“Ok,” Rhodey agrees, “Where are we sending him?” He directs his question to Natasha, who smiles because she has got the perfect place.  
“Laura will have been needing someone to help babysit for days now.”  
“Oh,” Pepper sighs, relieved, “that’s a wonderful idea.”  
…  
“No.” Tony bluntly refused, crossing his arms defiantly. Natasha kept her face neutral but inside she was amused that he thought he had a choice.  
“Yes, Tony. You’re going.” Pepper called from down the hallway. Tony didn’t respond, choosing instead to pout.  
Pepper had immediately started packing a bag for Tony and came to the compound to finish up by packing what he had brought along. It wasn’t much. Tony had been understandably surprised and confused by Pepper’s appearance, until Natasha had explained. Then he just became stubborn and angry.  
“Why?” Natasha asked. He stammered and spluttered at her.  
“What do you mean ‘why?’!” he threw up his hands exasperatedly, “I have things to do, legal stuff and meetings and I have to build Rhodey’s braces-”  
“Rhodey’s braces are already a marvel of science and he is insistent you go.” Natasha reminded him. He was thrown off for a moment before forging ahead once again.  
“Well the suits need upgrading and I’m working on this new A.I.”  
“Those sound like they can all wait.” Pepper said, entering the conversation and placing Tony’s suitcase at his feet. “ The jet will be taking off in one hour, you need to shower and put on the clean clothes on your bed before you leave.”  
“Not happening,” Tony stated, then whined, “I have things to do Pep. Besides it’s my plane it’ll take off’-”  
“It is happening because you are-”  
“When I say it does.”  
“Being extremely self destructive and we can’t deal with it anymore. You will go to the Bartons farm and help Laura and recover.”  
“Recover? I feel fine, also are you sure that Laura even likes me? I did get her husband in a high security prison and I feel like that’s a bit of a-”  
“Laura is actually the one who suggested you take a break over there.” Natasha interjected and Tony turned to her with wide eyes.  
“What?”  
“The kids miss you. Nate has just started to walk and she could really use an extra set of hands. I have stuff to do at S.H.I.E.L.D.”  
Tony’s eyes narrowed, “No you don’t, you just told her that. And I’m terrible with children, I should never be allowed in the vicinity of them.”  
“Tony, you are the biggest softie I’ve ever seen. The kids love you. Now go shower.”   
Pepper folded her arms, glaring with an amused glint in her eye. Natasha joined her in glaring. Tony, bewildered by the sudden turn of events, opened his mouth to argue, realized that the two women in front of him were utterly terrifying and then left without another word.  
…

“Thank you for doing this, Laura.”  
“Oh it’s no problem! Lila’s been asking for a coding class so Tony can help her out with that and honestly Cooper needs something to distract him before he falls out of another tree.”  
Natasha smiled even though Laura couldn’t see her through the phone, “I have to warn you, Tony puts up a good front but he absolutely adores kids. He’ll fall in love with them within a few days.”  
Laura laughed, “Tony Stark, a softie for kids, who knew? Don’t worry Natasha, I’ll keep an eye on him, he can’t be more difficult than Clint.”  
“Don’t underestimate him,” Natasha warned her good naturedly, “That’s how he tricks people. But Laura,” Natasha said seriously, “He’s being really self destructive right now, we have to get him away from work because he will actually work himself to death. You see him going towards a spiral, put your foot down, I know you can.”  
“I promise Natasha,” Laura assured, “you just promise me that you’ll be fine and work on getting Clint home to his kids, alright?”  
“It’s a deal. He’ll be there in the morning.”  
“Thanks, bye Nat.”  
…

Tony shuffled his feet nervously and clutched his suitcase in one hand. Oh, he was going to kill Pepper and Natasha. Or he would, if they weren’t the scariest women on earth. What was he going to do at the Barton’s farm? Laura probably didn’t even want him here, and the kids would hate him for getting their dad thrown into jail.  
He checked himself over once again. An impeccable, two button, black suit over a Black Sabbath tshirt. A watch, sunglasses and his hair combed neatly. Just like how he dressed for the press, except now he had to convince a friend and her children that he was fine instead of news reporters. Definetly a harder order.  
Speaking of which, he had been standing infront of the jet’s door for god knows how long which was really weird. It was just a vacation(that he didn’t deserve) nothing nerve wracking. Tony Stark didn’t do nervous(Tony did).   
He gathered his thoughts, plastered a smile on his face and walked off the jet and up to the front door. Reminded of the first time he had come here, he suddenly felt uncomfortably over dressed. Before he had time to work himself up over something else, the door was wrenched open.  
“Mr. Stark!” Cooper yelled, grinning crookedly, looking just like Clint for a second.   
Tony felt his breath hitch at the similarity, but he steadied himself and smiled back, if a little unsurely.  
“Cooper! I thought I told you to call me Tony last time I was here.”  
“Oh yeah..Hey! Lila! Tony’s here!” Cooper shouted into the house.   
A delighted shriek could be heard and there was a series of thumps until a blur of energy and dark hair threw herself at Tony. He dropped his bag in surprise, grunting at the impact and reflexivetly wrapped his arms around Lila Barton. As much as he was happy at the positive reception, he was a little bewildered.  
“Lila? You trying to knock me over?”  
The little girl giggled and released him, stepping back and looking up at him excitedly. “No, Tony. Just good to see you. How long are you staying?”  
“Um..”  
“As long as Auntie Nat says.” Laura’s voice answered firmly. Tony looked up sheepishly to see the woman standing in the entry hallway, a sleepy looking Nate in her arms. She nodded at Tony, smiling warmly at him, “It’s good to see you Tony. Let him in, kids, it’s cold outside.”  
“How’ve you guys been?” He asked cautiously, instantly kicking himself.   
That was a stupid question. Her husand and their father was in jail, unable to come home. Clint was supposed to be retired. However, contrary to what Tony expected, Laura smiled softly.  
“We’ve been better, been worse. Nothing we can’t handle, right kids?” There were murmurs of agreement, “Word is though, you haven’t been doing well..” Laura drifted off, leaving it as a question.  
Tony shrugged, it was true he wasn’t the example of mental and physical health. He never had been, Laura didn’t need to worry about him. She had kids to take care of.  
“I’m fine. I’m sorry about this, I know it was kind of late notice..”  
Laura just shook her head, laughing slightly, “Nat said you’d apologize. We’re glad to have you, Tony. The kids are super excited, and besides, Clint broke the tractor again.”   
Tony laughed then, Laura was trying hard to put him at ease, he could tell, and it was working a little. She laughed with him. The kids joined in and Nate bounced excitedly in his mothers arms.  
Maybe, Tony thought, just maybe, he could take a break here. Maybe he could be welcome for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony seriously needs a break, he will have one, I promise. Our sad boy will get the love he deserves. Next chapter will be out soon!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony is an awesome person and is also an anxious bean. (We love him anyway)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a bit of a long wait! Life got in the way, anyways, I don't own marvel or any of the characters. Without further ado, enjoy! :)

It was late. Or early, Tony wasn’t sure. He hadn’t woken up, it was simply a matter of not falling asleep in the first place.  
He refused to sleep, it getting old to wake up gasping from another nightmare. So instead he stared at the ceiling, wondering. Where were Rogers and Barnes? How long would Laura let him stay here? Would the team ever get back together? If they did, would that include him?  
A faint cry distracted Tony from his thoughts, it was Nate. The kids rooms were only a door down the hallway from Tony’s guest room. The soft creak of the floorboards and soft murmuring assured Tony tha Laura had gotten up. Silently, Tony listened for the almost indistinct noises of Laura rocking Nate back to sleep and eventually going back to her own bed.   
It was such a domestic occurrence, something Tony hadn’t experienced in a long time. He smiled to himself, rolling over and staring at the wall, a change from the ceiling.  
Sometime later soft padded footsteps approached his door. Faint sunlight was coming through the window by now so it was sometime in the very early morning. The door swung open with a creak, Tony tensed.  
“Tony?” Lila whispered into his room.   
Very briefly, Tony considered pretending to be asleep. But then there was a small sniffle and dammit, Tony couldn’t just ignore that. He rolled over and rubbed his eyes. Lila was poking her head through the door, clad in loose pajamas and her hair mussed.  
“Lila? What’re you doing up?” Tony asked gently.   
“I had a bad dream. Mom’s super tired and I didn’t want to bother her…”  
Her unspoken need for comfort did not go unnoticed by Tony, who got up and walked over to the door. He crouched down infront of Lila, trying to decide how to handle this. Her eyes were wide and there were tears clumping her eyelashes.  
“Oh. Um..do you wanna hang out with me for a while?” Tony asked, Lila nodded.  
Tony took her hand and they walked downstairs together. Lila leaned into Tony gently, Tony found himself trying to memorize the feeling.  
“Could we have hot cacao?” Lila asked once they reached the bottom of the stairs.   
He hesitated, not sure if sugar this late was good for her. Didn’t that make kids super hyper or something? It couldn’t be that bad.  
“Of course, sweetheart. Do you wanna help make it?”  
She nodded and Tony smiled warmly. The girl tugged on his arm and Tony followed after her. Together, with Lila grabbing the mugs and cacao and Tony heating up milk on the stove, they got their midnight snack.   
Soon, they both had matching milk mustaches on their lips and were trying their best not to giggle too loudly.  
“What? You’re telling me that you’re taller than me?” Tony raised his eyebrow at Lila and she nearly collapsed.  
“You’re very short.” She gasped out in between her giggles, trying to sound serious.  
Tony mock gasped, clutching at his chest. Lila started snorting again and nearly fell out of her chair. Tony chuckled too, then realizing how loud they were being, put his fingers to his lips.  
“Shh.”  
“No, you shh.” Lila copied him, still hysterical.  
“Who’s the adult here?”  
“But you’re a fun adult!” Lila protested.  
“Thank you, still the adult. And the adult thinks it’s time to calm down, if only so we don;t wake up your poor mother.” Tony pointed out, trying to get Lila back in bed without disappointing her.  
Lila frowned at him, her mouth stuck out in a pout. The Barton™ pout. Tony ignored the pang in his chest at the thought of his team. He reached out and grabbed her mug and his, walking over to put them in the sink.  
“Do I have to go to bed?”  
She sounded so small and sad all of a sudden. Tony sighed, knowing he was going to regret this. “I could sit on the couch with you for a bit.”  
“Ok.”  
Lila bounded over to the couch where Tony joined her. Immediately she snuggled up to his side, worming her way inder his arm and resting her head on his chest. Close to, but not on the arc reactor. Tony, stiffened for a moment, letting his hands hover over her, not quite sure what to do. Then, ever so cautiously, he let his arm rest on top of her and settled into the couch.  
She sighed contentedly, “Thank you.” she whispered.  
“Your welcome.” He whispered back, not sure if he even deserved it.  
Tony felt his eyelids betraying him. His belly warm with hot cacao, settled on a heavenly couch with a cuddle buddy, Tony drifted off to sleep. Lila fell asleep within the next minute.

The sounds of something frying was what woke Tony up. His eyes snapped up open, his mind only just remembering that there was a sleeping child on top of him and that he couldn’t leap to his feet. Noting that Lila wsa an octopus and liked to hog the blankets, Tony turned his head to see into the kitchen.  
Laura was cooking bacon in a pan, pancakes sizzled on a griddle. Cooper was nowhere to be seen but Nate sat happily on the floor. He was halfway between the kitchen and the couch where Tony was. His pajamas were grayish purple and the toddler's eyes were fixed on Tony.  
Laura glanced up and smiled at him, “Good morning.”  
“M-morning,” Tony stuttered, still a little startled at the frankly domestic and homely morning. It was wonderful.  
“I see you got a visitor last night.” Laura nodded and pointed to Lila with a spatula. Lila was still sleeping soundly.  
“Oh, it’s fine. I hope it's fine that I brought her down here. We had hot chocolate, I hope that was ok. She was just all worked up and I didn’t know what else to do and-”  
“Tony,” Laura laughed, “It was absolutely ok. Clint and I don’t mind a late night cup of hot cacao for the kids. Thank you for taking care of her.”  
“Of course. Couldn’t just ignore her.” Tony tried to brush the thank you off. He flashed her a winning smile, Laura nodded and went back to cooking.  
Lila stirred on Tony, her head lifted and she blinked blearily at Tony, who grinned back. Her eyes widened and her face broke out into a smile. Instantly she burst into motion and was climbing wildly off of Tony, who was trying not to wince.  
“Morning, Uncle Tony!” She yelled excitedly, bouncing on her way towards the kitchen, where she wrapped her mom in a hug.  
Uncle Tony? Where had that come from? Tony, who had just gotten his bearings, was slightly thrown off course again. Dutifully, though he responded, “Morning, Lila. Sleep well?  
“Mmhmm!” Lila nodded, her hair swishing.  
“Go get your brother, it’s time to eat.” Laura asked.  
Lila ran out the door towards the backyard, obviously knowing exactly where Cooper was. “Cooper!” She shouted, her voice fading as she ran.  
“Could you grab Nate for me Tony?” Laura asked casually, not even looking up.  
Tony startled, panickedly looking at Laura as if to ask if he heard right. She didn’t look up, he suspected it was deliberate. Slowly, he looked down at Nate who smiled back up at him innocently. Tony seriously considered telling Laura that he couldn’t. Nate was so small, Tony could hurt him by even just holding him wrong, he didn’t want to be responsible for that.  
“Ah!” Nate spoke and started making grabby hands in Tony’s direction. Swallowing his doubts, Tony eased off the couch and slowly walked towards the toddler. He stopped in front of him, looking down, Nate looked up at him, patting Tony’s foot.  
“Hey, Nate. Wanna get breakfast?”  
The toddler simply stared at him with big brown eyes, like bambi. Ok, Tony could do this. Tentatively, Tony bent down, slid his hands under Nate’s armpits and lifted him up, settling the young child close to his chest.  
Nate squealed in delight and bounced slightly, making Tony tighten his grip the slightest before loosening it for fear he would hurt Nate. A bit breathlessly Tony smiled down at Nate and walked over to the table for breakfast. He sat Nate down in his highchair, painfully slow, making sure the squirmy child wouldn’t plummet to the floor.  
Tony was aware of Laura’s eye watching him. He was sure she thought he was being ridiculous, but she never said a word. Not a minute after Nate was settled, Lila and Cooper flew through the door in a rush of fresh air. The little whirlwinds sat on either side of Tony, trapping him there, not that he actually minded.  
That morning, Tony ate some of the best pancakes he could remember, the only exceptions being the pancakes that Jarvis used to make for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments are awesome and totally welcome. Next chapter will be out soon!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Natasha talks to Clint and Pepper is getting things done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I am so sorry it took this long to get an update! Life has been crazy and I was dealing with some issues. Second, I apologize because this chapter wasn't exactly how I wanted it. Anyways, I don't own Marvel or any of their characters. Without further ado, enjoy! :)

“How’re you?” Clint smiled, but it fell flat.  
Natasha had gotten permission to contact him via video call, and now she was sitting at the compound kitchen table with a tablet before her. Clint was dressed in bland prisoner clothing, the white space behind him was empty. Natasha ground her teeth.  
“Been better. I’ve got a roof over my head and time to regroup, though. How’re you?” She skillfully was vague, not really wanting to talk in detail where they could be overheard or taped.  
Clint frowned, recognizing what she was doing. “Cooped up, there space to run around and stretch my legs but it's nothing like the farm. How is Laura?”  
“I talked with her recently, she seemed fine. The kids are missing you and so’s she but you know...they’ve dealt with similar situations before.”  
“Tell them I miss them, will you? These people won’t let me call home. The only good thing that’s happened so far is they got Wanda out of that jacket.”  
Clint smiled fondly and Natasha reflected it, specifically not telling Clint that Tony was directly responsible for Wanda’s release. Tony had been adamant about his negotiations remaining a secret for as long as possible. Natasha thought it was a stupid plan, who else could get them pardoned and released? The dots would be connected. But she wasn’t about to betray Tony’s trust again, so she kept silent.  
Her and Clint caught up, or pretended they were. It was really just meaningless small talk. Fear of being overheard, the tension between the two friends, the details that Natasha carefully glossed over and omitted, they all stacked up, making trust a fragile thing. The conversation was flat and disappointing.   
The first time she had contacted Clint there had been a lot of yelling and anger. Eventually she and Clint had gotten eachothers sides of the story. Clint had been severly uninformed about the details of the Accords, having only the barest idea of what they were. Natasha had to explain the plan to ratify them and how signing them would be hard but would gain trust and keep the team together. In the end, there was only regret, on both ends.  
…

Peppers' legal team was making progress, much to Ross’s frustration. It was slow progress, filled with little technical details and huge tensions. Many countries were against letting the rouges out, claiming they were a danger to citizens. In some ways, Natasha agreed. People got hurt everytime the Avengers stepped up and fought. There was distruction, property damages, fatalities and injuries. There was even doubt on whether some of those on the team could control their abilities.  
Wakanda, and a handful of other countries though, were making counter arguments. More fatalities would have been caused if the Avengers had not stepped up. Property damages would have been higher, heck if the Avengers weren’t there then the world would be subject to aliens or robots rule. Most of all, the Avengers were human(Mostly) they were going to make mistakes, the world shouldn’t(couldn’t) expect perfection.  
Like she said, it was slow.

…

“Tasha, you good?” Rhodey asked, shaking Natasha out of her thoughts.   
“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine. You ok?” Natasha spun the question around to him. Rhodey frowned, but let it go.  
“I’m walking, that's good enough for me. These braces are amazing.”  
“Tony would only give the best to his best friend.”  
“That's Tones...how are the pardons coming?” Rhodey asked, his voice was a bit breathless, but Natasha didn’t call him out on it.  
“Slow, but steady. Peppers' team is doing awesome, and there aren't even questions from the press about where Tony’s gone.”  
“Good. The last thing we need are more questions.”  
Natasha hummed in response, walking slowly beside Rhodey to offer silent support. With Tony on a vacation, Natasha figured the least she could do was keep his best friend company. A silent apology. To both of them.

…

“Go away Rogers, it isn’t even your farm.”   
Tony grumbled half heartedly under his breath. He was working on the Barton’s tractor in the barn, arm deep in the engine’s mechanics. It was late, he couldn’t sleep(again) and so he stumbled outside in the dead of night to do the only work availible to him.  
Hallu-Rogers had decided to join him.   
So far Hallu-Rogers hadn’t said a word, which was unusual. But Tony supposed the hallucinations wouldn’t be the exact same since he had changed locations and he had other peoples chatter in his life now.   
“What? You’re just gonna watch me work? You didn’t even like to come into my workshop before.” Tony huffed, still entirely focused on the engine before him. He knew the hallucination was still there.  
“You never invited me.”  
Rogers' words were quiet, simple. Sounding like Steve Rogers not Captain America. Tony hadn’t been expecting that. He nearly ripped his hands out of the engine, barely stopping at the last second to prevent totally ripping them up on the sharp gears and such.   
“What did you say?” He hissed, carefully taking his hands out of the engine and whipping around.  
Hallu-Rogers stared back at him, not saying a word.   
“What. Did. You. Say?” Tony repeated, fairly spooked now.  
That simple sentence had been totally unexpected. Nothing like the other hallucinations lines, which were just echoes of facts that Tony himself knew. That was the thing with hallucinations, they could only tell you what you already knew.   
But this. This was something new. Never, had Tony ever directly thought of the fact that he hadn’t invited Rogers into his workshop. For a split second he considered the idea that this Rogers wasn’t a hallucination, before completely dismissing it. Rogers had no idea where he was and besides the hallucination had only appeared after he sat down.  
He was still staring at Rogers, who was still watching him. Tony recognized the faint hint of concern written on his face but didn’t give it much thought, still entirely focused on the fact that a hallucination had told him something he had never noticed. At least he didn’t consciously notice it.   
“Rogers?” Tony asked, helplessly. He realized somewhere in the back of his mind that he was speaking to a hallucination as if it was real and would give him an answer. He didn’t care.  
He received only a blank stare from his former teammate. A moment later, the Captain was gone. Tony scowled and threw a wrench in Rogers' former general direction.  
It clattered to the ground, Tony watched it. He was too tired to pick it back up.

….

Natasha picked up her phone from the kitchen table. She had been eating breakfast. It was Pepper.  
“Yes?” She asked, wary. She and Pepper had talked yesterday and Pepper said she would update her tomorrow.  
“It’s the Rogues.” Pepper spat, her tone was icy and Natasha could hear the click-clack of her heels against the floor through the phone.  
“What’s happened?” Natasha rose from the table to stand.  
“Ross just called, there's been a break in. All the Rogues are gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, it got a little bit against Team Cap but I'm trying to not be totally against them, everyone made mistakes. Next chapter will be out soon(I hope!) Comments are always awesome!


	7. Important

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Announcment.

Okay, first off this is not a chapter(Sorry!). Second I just want to apologize for not having a chapter ready so I'll make this quick.

This is just a reassurance that this fic has NOT and will NOT be abandoned. The next chapter will be released on Sat. March 6. I'm just experiencing some setbacks and wanted to let anyone who was following this story know when to expect an update.

Sorry, again, I know its a long wait, but life gotten in the way a lot recently. 

Stay happy and calm, love you all 3000.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I tried to write fluff but it ended up being really angsty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry again for the long wait, but here's the next chapter! Once again I don't own Marvel or any of the characters. Without further ado, enjoy! :)

Tony was irritated. And he also wasn’t. Things were confusing right now. He had too many feelings going on at once, he didn’t want to deal with them.  
Rogers, and he was assuming Barnes, had broken into the Raft and freed the rest of their team. Tony figured he should’ve seen it coming. No, he was not upset that they had escaped, it had been hell to walk away from half of his team locked up like criminals. But at the same time Tony was furious at Rogers. Pepper’s legal team had been working like hell to get the Rogues free and then pardoned, and now it was just an even bigger mess.  
Laura found him in the middle of a panic attack in the barn. The second one in fact.  
“Hey, Tony.” She said gently, slowly sitting next to him.  
Tony only really registered her voice. He was doing the thousand yard stare, spiraling down into his thoughts. His eyes really only seeing space.  
“Can you breathe a little for me?”  
Her voice echoed around his brain. Breathe? He was breathing, wasn’t he? Tony thought he was. It wasn’t good if he wasn’t breathing, the brain needed oxygen. There wasn’t oxygen in space. That was stupid. Who made it that way? Maybe people wanted to travel easier through space.  
“Hey, hey, we’re trying to breathe, not hold our breaths.” Laura reminded him.  
Oh. That made sense. Ok. Tony focused, trying to see the barn around him instead of empty space. It worked, a little.  
“That’s good, that’s very good. Could you look at me please?”  
Tony turned his head in her general direction, she was perched on a chair next to him. Her hair was down and she wore a flannel with jeans.  
“Tell me three things you see.”  
“You, the window...that godforsaken tractor.” Tony gulped for air, uncurling his body and calming down.  
Laura huffed slightly with laughter, but she still watched him concernedly. “You with me now?”  
“Just uh..just give me a minute or two.”  
“I have a feeling you’ll need more than a minute.” Laura said.  
Tony chuckled for a second, still breathless. His thoughts were still jumbled and not making a whole ton of sense. The less than ideal situation with the Rogues setting him off on other sensitive points. But he was coming around, Laura was grounding him.  
Tony worked on catching his breath, which probably took about five minutes, during which Laura didn’t comment or pry. She was awesome like that.  
“What do you say about helping me make dinner tonight?” Laura suggested while they walked back.  
“You do know my reputation right?” Tony asked jokingly.  
“I’m sure you know how to make something, any ideas?”  
“Could we make spaghetti?”  
“It’s a done deal. The kids will love it.”

…

“Tony, needs to be here.” Pepper said, making Natasha frown slightly before regaining composure.  
“Why?” She said back into the phone.  
“I know that he’s just gotten settled and really hate to bring him back but there’s hell from the public about the Rogues and everybody’s asking where he is. I can’t handle it without a statement from him or a sign that he’s not hiding away.”  
“He needs a break, Pepper.”  
“I know, and he’ll get one. I miss him Natasha,” Pepper's voice wavered slightly, “I’m just gonna have him at the tower, me and Rhodey can keep watch.”  
Natasha weighed her options. She wished that Tony had a bit more time to calm down and recoup, but there was no saying he couldn’t do that at the tower.  
“I miss him too,” Natasha allowed, a sudden idea came to her, “Pepper, how do you feel about extra guests?”

…

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want me and the kids to be imposing..”   
“Pepper was ecstatic, Laura and we promised the kids at least a week with their Uncle Tony, it's barely been three days. Come to the tower.” Natasha urged.  
“What about Clint? I should be here if he comes back..”  
Laura's voice drifted off, Natasha pressed her lips together. The Rogues escape had reached the news.  
“Have the kids heard?”  
“No, I don’t want them worrying.”  
“Laura, we’re working overtime trying to get a location on them. Come to the tower, Ross is threatening Pepper and even though he can’t do anything to her, I don’t want him to start threatening you.”  
“How does he even know our location?” Laura sounded slightly panicked, Natasha was quick to reassure her.  
“We don’t know what he knows. He might have your location and might not. Tony needs to come back, come with him.”   
Natasha knew she was pleading now. She had lost Clint, she couldn’t lose Laura and the kids too.  
“How long are we staying?”

...

This conversation is what led to Tony loading up his jet at the farm, with three kids and Laura Barton in tow. He was excited to see Pepper and Rhodey again, and it was nice to bring the Bartons along. They had grown on him.  
“Thank you again, Tony.” Laura said once they were in the air.  
“It’s nothing, the towers huge and the kids need a change in scenery anyways. Besides, I’m pretty sure it was Pepper who offered the space, not me.”  
Tony was deflecting. Laura simply smiled knowingly at him and patted his arm before going to check up on Nate. He watched her go, wondering how every woman he knew seemed to be able to see right through him. It was seriously concerning. Maybe they could read minds.

Cooper and Lila were both fascinated with anything and everything on the quinjet, running around with boundless energy. They asked Tony questions about everything they came across, dragging him by the arm to and from different high tech gadgets. He laughed and did his best to explain and teach, it was refreshing to have someone to show his creations to. He hadn’t done that in almost a month.   
At one point, Tony had spotted a picture of the team. It was near the front of the jet, where someone would fly it. He had forgotten it was there. The picture was from the days when they were still chasing around The Glowstick of Destiny™. They had all squeezed into the frame, it was after a mission, in some restaurant, the team was all in varying degrees of exhaustion and covered in dirt. They looked happy, content. Like a family.  
He swallowed hard, forcing himself to look away. Frustratedly, he blinked away the tears that had come out of nowhere. Luckily no one had noticed his sudden emotional state. Taking a deep breath, he followed Cooper over to where the boy had found one of his workstations. (Thankfully, Cooper hadn’t gone to Bruces. Tony wasn’t sure he could deal with explaining a teammates gear right now.)

…

“You miss me, already?” Tony asked the trio who stood on the platform to greet them.  
“No, we just require your presence.”   
Pepper assured him with a smile. She hugged him and Tony’s breath stuttered for a moment while he hugged back. He knew she was sassing him but it still felt so nice. They needed him.   
“Auntie Nat!” The kids cried, running to the other red head and throwing their arms around her. She obliged them, returning the affection.  
Rhodey watched, standing with his leg braces on and only a small frown from discomfort. Tony would have to fix that.   
“Sourpatch! How’ve you been? Are the bots good company?” Tony hugged Rhodey too.  
“I’m fine Tones. The bots are fine too, Dum-e made Nat a smoothie yesterday.”  
“Ooh.” Tony nodded, proud of his eldest, “any posionings?”  
“None so far.” Rhodey replied.  
Tony pouted slightly, “We’ll have to work on that.”  
“I heard you Stark.” The spy calmly rebuked him.  
Tony winced, playfully. Nate, who had been watching from his mothers arms giggled and Tony winked at him. Rhodey gave Tony a sappy smile.  
“You’re better.” He said, “you look like you’ve actually slept.”  
“Enough with the sappiness,” Tony clapped, getting the attention of everyone else, “Let’s take this party inside!”

…

Everyone settled in. The Bartons in the guest rooms and Rhodey, Pepper, Natasha and Tony to their respective rooms. Because, though he and Pepper were on a break, and Rhodey didn’t technically live there and the tower wasn’t Avengers base anymore, Tony had rooms for all of them.  
As much as he denied it, with sass, deflection and outright denial, Tony was just the tiniest bit sentimental. He knew he was, why else would he still have the individual Avengers floors ready for them to come back. Just in case, if they wanted. 

Despite the comfort of being in his own bed, Tony couldn’t sleep. He tried for hours, and it just wasn’t working. So he got up, upon finding out that he had been locked out of his workshop by Pepper and denied access to the mainframe by JARVIS he made himself a cup of coffee.  
So, here he was, sipping a cup of black coffee at two am on the communal level for the Avengers. Or the ex-Avengers, whatever. Tony wasn’t sure how he came to be there or even why he was there. He discovered that he didn’t actually mind it, so he stayed.  
It was god knows how many hours later when the hallu-team made an appearance. The sun was just barely coming up and Tony was still sitting there, his coffee cup empty. He blinked and suddenly it was like watching a scene from a movie.  
Clint was washing dishes at the sink, Steve was helping dry. Bruce was cleaning up the table, Natasha sat at the counter and Thor was passed out on the table. They were all dressed casually, like a normal family after dinner. Natasha said something that made Clint’s laugh, Steve joining him, Bruce merely smiled in his shy way.  
The entire thing was silent, but Tony knew what it would have sounded like. The loud cackling from Clint, the almost scoffing laughter from Steve, Nat’s quiet, deceptively innocent voice.  
He forced himself to look away, trying to ignore the raw emotion that welled up in him. The hallucination dissipated and once again the tower was quiet and cold. When he had first made the tower, he had always thought it was full. Full of workers, furniture and of course his lovely Pepper and Rhodey. It had been perfect.  
Then the Avengers came and proved him wrong. Making him question everything he thought he had known. Filling up his perfect tower with so much domestication it was disgusting. Tony had gotten used to it though. Grown to love it, look forward to it even.  
But nothing lasted forever he supposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'm gonna be really honest, I have no idea where to go from here, I'm not sure what comes next. I hate to abandon this so I will try to keep writing but of anyone has any ideas on what they would like to see from this story please don't hesitate to put it in the comments!   
> Thank you for reading and the next chapter will be out Saturday Mar. 13!

**Author's Note:**

> This man has some serious self-esteem issues. I'm sorry.


End file.
